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About the author

I have been keeping aquariums for over 20 years. Over this time I had the opportunity to read a lot of good information that has enabled me to enjoy the hobby. Although planted aquariums and aquascaping are now the main focus, I still maintain a keen interest in fish breeding and biological interactions.

My scientific background as a biologist and epidemiologist blends well with my experience of keeping planted aquariums. During my university studies, I have studied topics such as microbiology, plant science and ecology as well as study design and data analysis. Besides aquarium keeping I also enjoy photography, which I find comes very handy when it comes to sharing your work.

The website started out as an idea to help the influx of new hobbyists. Rather than rewriting the same thing in various forums, I have decided to provide easily accessible and structured information as a website. For some topics, I also took steps to show how some of the common information in the hobby might not perform as expected.

Feel free to read around the site and contact me. But first of all, enjoy your aquarium.

Conflicts of interest We strongly believe in full transparency and disclosure of all possible conflicts of interest.

What is a conflict of interest?

We consider conflicts of interests when there is any financial, commercial, legal or professional relationship with other organizations or with people working with them that have the potential of influencing the topic or content of the website.

These often take the form of (but not limited to):

employment, fees or honoraria

sponsorship or grants

sponsored product reviews

accommodation and attendance at paid conferences

What impact do conflicts of interests have?

Conflicting interests may result in under-reporting of negative information about the other party or over assessing the advantage of one party over the others. They are often not conscious attempts at presenting only parts of the truth but they are happening nonetheless. For example, one could mention the sponsor of this content when the opportunity arises, even though that content is not sponsored in any way. They might choose their products in the stores or frame a photo in such a way their products are highly visible. The criticism of the company is often tampered in a subconscious attempt not to upset the people who provided a good of material value.

Conflicts of interest introduce reporting bias. At the basis the questions, we are speaking about ethics. It has been documented that even receiving pens and notepads can influence opinions, even though they are not perceived of goods of worth. Rather than picking and choosing what we consider are actual influences on our content, we decided to follow the guidelines for medical journals when it comes to conflicts of interest and disclose all potential conflicts of interests

What is disclosed?

All relationships with aquarium-related companies that are described above and with a cumulated monetary value of over €50.00 for one calendar year. For products, the value is estimated from prominent stores at the time of the exchange. This includes products sent for testing and returned.

The disclosure covers at minimum 5 years, but longer potential conflicts of interest may be reported if deemed relevant. The disclosure also extends to members of the immediate family.

The article authors are responsible to disclose their personal conflicts of interest as they see relevant for the article they are contributing.

Not included here are specifically: publicly available discounts, products won in public competitions, items donated or sold by private persons, items bought with our resources. Also not disclosed are items that are not aquarium related and are not mentioned on this website.

Year

2015 to present

Potential Conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Aims and goals of the websiteKnowledge and experience work together to build intuition.

Looking at most popular sites online one thing is clear. Visitors want easily accessible and reliable information. Some basic topics are covered multiple times in forums resulting in more or less comprehensive and structured coverage of the topic. Opinions are often stated as facts with no conclusive proof.
Other topics are indeed controversial and it seems everybody has a different, often contradicting opinion with no concrete outcome. Everyone’s experience differs and yet the tendency is to state random observations as proof for advice that should be followed as law.
With the proper scientific background and experience in this hobby, this site will become your source for reliable information. It will provide well-structured and presented information as well as scientifically designed and conducted experiments for aquarium keepers of all experience levels.

Commonly asked questions will be covered by easy to understand articles, starting with basic knowledge and building up to expert level coverage. This type of structure offers both quick answers and knowledge. More controversial topics necessitate a sound experimental framework where they can be answered. Of course just as there are more ways to tie a knot, so are to grow successful plants. IntuitiveAqua.net will document and repeat some ways so you can increase your chances of success. The main focus, in the beginning, will be on aquatic plants. Nevertheless, other topics that interest freshwater aquarists will be detailed, such as water parameters, equipment reviews and general guides. Therefore subscribe to our newsletter at the top and visit frequently for new updates.

Get in touch Follow, join, subscribe to get updates about our projects or just have a nice conversation in the great aquarium communities

Get involvedShare your ideas with us and we do our best to turn your ideas into reality. Help us advance the hobby and keep offering good information to keep our aquariums at their best.

You suspect there is something better for your aquarium and want to prove it. You want to get more information about how to keep aquariums in top shape and what all the terms mean. You want to go beyond myth and legend, you actually need experience and an intuition in aquarium keeping. You are in the right place IntuitiveAqua.net.